12th Republic of Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues
Non-proliferation Regime in the 21st Century: Challenges and the Way Forward
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD), in cooperation with the Republic of Korea, has continued the Jeju Process by organising the 12th Republic of Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues, on Jeju Island (Republic of Korea), 14-15 November 2013.
This year’s Conference, themed “Non-proliferation Regime in the 21st Century: Challenges and the Way Forward”, focused on a range of non-proliferation issues, with a special emphasis on UN Security Council resolution 1540.
The Conference also included discussions on other global non-proliferation obligations and initiatives, including UN Security Council sanctions, IAEA Safeguards, efforts against proliferation financing, the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit and the Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Unanimously adopted in 2004, resolution 1540 obligates all States to refrain from providing any support to non-State actors attempting to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery. The Conference addressed key issues associated with the implementation of the resolution, examined the means for its strengthening and universalisation, and discussed the vision for the next decade.
The annual Conference has been jointly organised by the United Nations and the Republic of Korea since 2002. Known as the ‘Jeju Process’, it is well-known for providing an informal setting for frank and open discussions of current critical issues of disarmament, arms control, non-proliferation and security by bringing together stakeholders from different sectors of the disarmament and non-proliferation community, including government, intergovernmental organisations, academia and civil society.